Don't pay a deposit, don't hand over your ID, don't sign a “training loan” (培训贷), don't join a pyramid scheme (传销), don't borrow at loan-shark rates

Cost

Free. When you hear “pay first and then start work,” “train first and we'll arrange a job afterward,” or “recruit people,” refuse on the spot. Keep your chat records and transfer receipts. The hard part is that the more you need money, the more you want to gamble, and saying no on the spot is not easy.

What you get

A company may not hold your ID card or other documents, may not require you to find a guarantor, and may not collect money or goods from you under any other name. Violators are ordered to return what they took and fined 500 CNY or more but no more than 2000 CNY per person. A professional employment agency likewise may not hold documents or collect deposits, and if it did not get you a job it must refund its fee to you. Using the name of recruitment to lure you into paying training fees first or taking out a loan first is the “hire-to-train” (招转培) and “training loan” (培训贷) scam flagged by five departments including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (人社部). Schemes that pay commissions for recruiting people and that you can join only by paying are pyramid selling (传销), and participants can be fined up to 2000 CNY. For private lending, a court will not support the part of the interest that exceeds 4 times the one-year LPR at the time the contract was signed. This new rule replaced the old three-tier method drawn around the 24% and 36% lines (nationwide, from August 2020)

Notes

4 times LPR is the interest ceiling a court is willing to protect. It does not mean you can borrow and not repay; the principal is still owed. This judicial interpretation was amended again in December 2020 and its article numbers changed, so go by the current text. For how to convert the fees on installment plans and online loans into an annualized rate, see §5.7 (convert interest into an annualized rate). The more urgently you need money, the easier it is for these tricks to find you. First use the legitimate channels earlier in this section: unemployment insurance benefits, a labor inspection complaint, legal aid, a rescue station, temporary assistance.

Evidence grade

A : Specific numbers from meta-analyses, large cohorts or randomized trials; for law and policy, the statute or official text.

Sources

1. 全国人大常委会 (2007). 劳动合同法（主席令第六十五号，第九、八十四条）. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2007/content_711013.htm
2. 劳动保障部 (2007). 就业服务与就业管理规定（劳动保障部令第 28 号，第十四、五十五、五十八条）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/2022-11/28/content_5711307.htm
3. 人力资源社会保障部等五部门 (2026). 警惕「招转培」「培训贷」等风险提示. https://chinajob.mohrss.gov.cn/h5/c/2026-05-18/543038.shtml
4. 国务院 (2005). 禁止传销条例（国务院令第 444 号，第二、七、二十四条）. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2005/content_80604.htm
5. 最高人民法院 (2020). 关于修改《关于审理民间借贷案件适用法律若干问题的规定》的决定（法释〔2020〕6 号，第二十六条）. https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu/xiangqing/249031.html
6. 最高人民法院 (2020). 民间借贷利率司法保护上限调整为「一年期 LPR 的 4 倍」. https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/249051.html

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 7, tip 15. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer